May 2023

Sue Gutierrez was on the judging panel at the Envision KS5 programme Final which was held in the impressive Millennium Point building in Birmingham. There were teams from Further Education Colleges and Sixth forms in the region who had each completed a 24-week course and worked with Envision staff and business mentors to design and deliver a real-life positive impact project in their school or college. The aim is to help the young people to develop the core life skills of communication, creativity, determination and teamwork.

Most of the disadvantaged young people selected for this programme struggle with confidence so the final, in which they present in front of a large audience, was quite an intimidating prospect. They had practised well with their mentors and on the day delivered varied and engaging presentations about their social impact projects. Teams had focused on several topical issues such as mental health, physical exercise and racism. The winners – ‘Team United from Different Nations’ from Matthew Boulton College – had decided to celebrate the diversity of their college (where there are students of 35 nationalities) to introduce an annual Cultural Awareness Day.